Corcoran, Knights Top Spartans

NORTHFIELD, Minn. -- In its last game before the start of MIAC play, the Carleton College men’s soccer team notched a 1-0 victory over Aurora University. The match, which featured two regionally-ranked teams, was decided by senior Will Corcoran’s (Mahtomedi, Minn./Mahtomedi) goal in the 56th minute.

Although Carleton (3-0-2) tallied just the lone goal, the Knights controlled play for most of the match. If not for a strong performance from Spartan keeper Chris Donner, the Knights’ 21-5 shot advantage may have resulted in more than just the one goal.

A flurry of offensive creativity, especially from midfielder Sam Hayward (So./Stanford, Calif./Gunn) and first-year forward Peter Passalino (Lake Forest, Ill./Lake Forest), established momentum for the Knights early in the match. Carleton drew eight corner kicks compared to just one by Aurora (3-2-1), and the Knights maintained possession throughout much of the match, keyed by strong performances in the midfield by Hayward and Kevin Doyle (Fy./Evanston, Ill./Evanston Township).

Per usual, the Carleton defense was excellent. All-American senior centerback Neil Bartholomay (St. Paul, Minn./Cretin-Derham Hall) teamed with Trent Elmore (So./Bloomington, Ind./Phillips Exeter Academy), Kurt Heise (So./ Deerfield, Mass./Deerfield), and Devin Tomson-Moylan (Jr./St. Paul, Minn./Central) to stonewall the Spartans offensive attack that never seemed to get things going and created just five shots, not one which was on goal.

Keenan Smith (Jr./Madison, Wis./West) was placed in the starting lineup minutes before the match started, and registered the clean sheet to lower his career goals against average to .498.

Carleton will look to carry the momentum from the victory into their MIAC opener against rival Gustavus Adolphus College on Wednesday, Sept 18. The contest, which is scheduled to start at 4:00 pm at Bell Field, will be a rematch of last year’s thrilling MIAC Playoffs championship game. Live stats and video coverage will be provided by Knights Online.